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Fluval Spec V drystart

Ho boy! I was too dense to pick that up. The Neon cherries that were so gregarious when I installed them, have become very shy. Just one out this morning so far. And at this point they look so much alike except for the size of some, I am at a loss to identify individuals. My Hydrocotyle is growing like topsy. Its a beautiful plant and a nice contrast with the form of others.
 
Well, so much for these shrimp swimming all over the place. For the last couple of days I have only seen two at a time and don't know if they are the same shrimp. That's what I get for my junglely landscape. Lots of places to hide; at least I hope that's the reason I don't see them. (fingers crossed)
 
Picked up five more neon cherries, so now have ten. 50% R/O water change today, GH hardness now 75ppm (soft)
Question: My shrimp do not flock to the food like I see other peoples' shrimps do. I usually only see one or two at a time, and they meander by, sniff at the food (Azoo Max breed) and continue on their merry way. Is this normal behavior? They are still new occupants so maybe they need time to adjust.
 
Came at the right time too. My grandson got to see them. We were face timing right then. He's almost 4 and loves looking at them (for a short time). Showed him a picture of Big Momma in the other tank with all the eyes showing in the eggs.
 
Fortunately I went wild while the wife was away and am going to start a new setup with a Fluval Flora tank, Aquaclear HOB filter, ADA Amazon substrate, and a Fluvial nano tile LED. Going to give the ADA plenty of time to cycle with big water changes (using treated tap water which is pH 8) before adding plants, on to R/O water, then more time to mature/cycle before adding micro fish, and finally shrimp. Also going to try planting the filter chamber with a few emergent plants like penny wort (any suggestions for interesting looking aquatics and emergents?). Don't know what kind of CO2 system yet. Probably start with DYI and ceramic diffuser
Here's an image of the setup. What do you think? Comments welcome from all (you too X3NiTH) :
https://www.flickr.com/photos/129377489@N05/15762556173/
 
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Roy,
Thanks for the tip on Hydrocotyle. I checked and over here, and if I read it right, it's only banned in Puerto Rico:
http://iwgs.org/invasive-species/
I was thinking (always dangerous) that with the Eheim filter, I wouldn't need as much filtering power and could sacrifice a bit of straining capability if I kept an eye on the amount of growth and kept the roots to the top filter pad, or perhaps a perforated plastic tray insert?
 
Always another tank on the horizon, sometimes feels like an event horizon and it just sucks you in and then you discover the expanding black hole in your wallet when you need to pay!

:)
 
Downsized my aquaclear HOB filter to size 20 and got a 6-1/2" suction cupped bathroom caddy for some emergent plants. Thanks Roy for the page with some of Andy's ideas. Have poured and graded ADA Amazonia, but not added water yet, as I have not decided on driftwood or rocks for accent, Fissidens, Riccia or other mat-growing plants. The Tucson gem, mineral and fossil show (the largest in the world) is about to open here and I am going to look for interesting pieces of driftwood and rock. I'll try to avoid limestone and/or like rocks that up pH. Don't know if the Fluvial LED nano light is sufficient for most plants. I wish it wasn't attached to the side with adhesive. Would be tough to remove.
 
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Just learned to post image correctly. Here's my new setup. Got some Alive Hydrocorn biomedia port the emergent planter I'm going to put in. Anyone have experience with it? BTW- one of my Tillandsias in blooming here's an image:
16210729989_12031bd28f_c.jpg
 
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